CBZ has undoubtedly been a trend setter in Indian bike industry. It was the first 150cc Performance bike that was well accepted by the mass. The success of CBZ galvanized the launch of other performance bikes like Pulsar. Though CBZ was extremely good performer and had a great acceleration, the performance came with Price. The bike was not fuel efficient at all due to TPFC injection used in it. This was the major reason that other bikes took over CBZ market. Never the less people who ride CBZ swear by it’s name.
Hero Honda has re-launched CBZ as CBZ XTreme. Though the new CBZ shares its initial with the old one, it does not seem to carry it’s flaws.
Looks and Styling
The CBZ XTreme is certainly not the best looking bike in the Market. It’s Looks and Styling may not be to everyone’s liking. The front mini fairing is still a little conventional. If we ignore the front fairing things start looking better. The instrument panel The fuel tank looks sporty. Hero Honda has kept the use Graphics stickers to the minimal. This gives a very sporty look to bike. The Split Grab rails at the back is also a first and looks very exotic.
Engine and Performance
CBZ seems to have borrowed the engine from Unicorn and Achiever(they both share the same engine base). Only the change is that the engine has been retuned for performance. This works in the favor of CBZ as the engine is tried and tested. Above all the engine is a Honda engine(they do not know how to make bad engines). So reliability is not an issue. The engine returns 14.4 bhp power output. This figure is the best in 150cc segment. Higher power also evident from the acceleration the bike gives. It reaches from 0 to 60 Kmph in just above 5.5 seconds. This again is one of the best acceleration figure in it’s segment. The bike feels very stable at high speed and while cornering. Top speed is around 110 Kmph. The bike has 5 speed gear box.
Fuel Efficiency
Low Fuel efficiency was the reason why the original CBZ did not hit the Bullz-Eye. The new CBZ XTreme does away with this flaw. It returns a Mileage of 55 Kmpl in hard city riding and 70 Kmpl on Highway. This is very commendable considering, this bike is basically a performance bike.
Fit and Finish
The fit and finish of this bike is still not the Hero Honda benchmark. The welding job on the Chassis looks a little shoddy. Also the heat shield on the exhaust does not blend seamlessly.
Conclusion
If looks is the only thing you are looking in a bike then you might want to take a look at other bike. Also the cost of this bike may be on a little higher side with On Road price at Rs. 63000 for electric start. But if you can look beyond these restrictions, then this bike might be the only logical choice for people who look for performance and handling in a bike. It will be bliss to ride this beast. Also with it you get the Hero Honda Brand product and its reliable service network. To sum it up this bike is a potent servant and it asks to be Bossed around. It will respond to you in affirmation in which ever way you ride it.